HAFENCITY

The HafenCity project is an urban waterside development project that seeks to re-establish a downtown district in Hamburg. Hamburg is on the northern River Elbe, and was previously developed as a city around an industrial harbor in the central city. Today, the harbor is outdated and rarely used, and Hamburg is transitioning to a knowledge-economy with office buildings, community facilities, bike paths through an open space network, and building and streets that are elevated eight meters above the existing mean high tide to guarantee the longevity of the project. The project also includes artificial mounds that are graded to retain water to further protect the development from flooding. There is an emphasis on building low-income housing, and reducing individual car ownership by building stations for car sharing systems. Despite being a development project, some existing buildings remain on site as a model of fine-grain planning and creating a model of an adaptable masterplan for other European cities. The project began in 1997, when the government released its vision to transform narrow sections along the river itself into waterfront parks. Since its inception, the vision has progressed to hire urban planners and architects through public competitions, which are judged 70% on concept, and 30% on the price of proposed projects. HafenCity is fully owned by the City of Hamburg and a city-owned subsidiary that acts as the master developer to finance the project's public infrastructure. The private sector then develops individual projects laid out by the city. HafenCity will rely on clean thermal and geothermal energy. 2000 - ongoing
388 acres
30 feet above sea level